How to Change Your Minnesota Business Name

How to Get a New Business Name

There are three steps you need to follow to make a business name change in Minnesota. 

1.) Choose a new business name 

First things first. Take some time to brainstorm new ideas for your business name. After that, make sure you understand Minnesota’s naming restrictions for LLCs and corporations. 

Minnesota law requires all LLC names to contain either the phrase “limited liability company” or the abbreviation “LLC.” LLC names can’t include the words “corporation” or “incorporated.” Finally, all LLC names must be different from an existing LLC name. 

The state’s laws put similar regulations in place for choosing a new corporation name. A corporation’s name must include one of the following words:

• Corporation 
• Company
• Incorporated
• Limited

You can use the abbreviations of those four words if you want your corporation’s name to be a bit shorter. As with LLCs, your corporation’s name has to be unique.

It can be a tough task to make sure that you’re not using another business’s name. If you want to save yourself some time, use our Business Name Checker. With this tool, you can check that you’re in the clear with your new business name. If you’re not quite ready to change your business’s name, we can also reserve your business name for you. That way your business’s new name will be ready when you are! 

 2.) Gather information for filing your amendment

Now that you have a few candidates for a new business name, you need to make sure that you’re following your business’s own rules. For LLCs, you can find these procedures in the Operating Agreement. You can find any applicable procedures for corporations in corporate bylaws. In most cases, you’ll need to obtain the approval of your shareholders, board of directors, or managers to move forward with the name change. 

Fortunately, the website for Minnesota’s Secretary of State has all the forms you need to change your business’s name. These include the Amendment to Articles of Organization form (for LLCs) and an Amendment to Articles of Incorporation form (for corporations). For both forms, you’ll need the following information:

• The business’s current name
• The effective date of the amendment
• The actual text (name) that you want to change
• A signature from an authorized person or registered agent
• Contact information for a point of contact within the business 

In addition, both forms require a filing fee. The filing fee amount is listed on the forms. Keep in mind that the fee amount will vary based on how you decide to file the form. 

3.) File your Minnesota amendment

All amendment forms need to be filed with the Minnesota Secretary of State’s Business Services office. You can file the amendment forms in person, online, or by mail. 

Processing time depends on the filing method. In most cases, it will take about 1-2 weeks to process an amendment. If you’re in a rush, you can request expedited service at an additional cost.

After You Change Your Business Name

Even after you’ve filed the relevant forms with the Minnesota state government, there’s still more to do to complete your business’s name change in Minnesota. Specifically, you need to update all your business’s other documents. This includes things like:

• Current contracts, loans, and banking documents
• Federal, state, and local business licenses 
• Employment contracts
• Tax documents
• Marketing materials, such as advertisements, brochures, and website

Ensure that your business’s new name is on all of these materials. Even a small mistake can lead to a lot of confusion! 

Finally, let your vendors and clients know about the name change, preferably well in advance. 

We Can Help!

We’re standing by to help you. We know how repetitive and time-consuming these kinds of changes can be, so don’t hesitate to let us give you a hand.

Even if you’re confident you can handle the process of changing your business’s name, we can assist you with many other business needs. For example, we can help keep your business compliant with legal requirements using our Worry-Free Compliance Service. With this service, we will take care of up to two amendments each year. We’ll also support your business if it ever falls out of Minnesota good standing with the state. 

If you’re still at the beginning of your business journey and need help forming your business, we can give you a hand up with our Minnesota LLC and Minnesota Corporation Formation Services. Let’s get going today!